How to Prevent and Recover from Common Cold and Flu?

Before we get into how to prevent and recover from common cold and flu, let’s understand the basic difference these two illnesses-common cold and flu.

Suffering from a stuffy nose, scratchy and sore throat and a heavy head are the common symptoms for a cold and flu. The symptoms for both these illnesses can overlap. Unless your doctor wants you to go in for a flu test and reads out your results, you will not be sure of which enemy has struck you! However, here is a small gist to let you know the difference between a cold and flu.

What is Common Cold?

Similar to its name, the common cold is very common to all age groups. One can resolve from the common cold too quickly; say, 5-6 days, while the after effects might last until a week. The symptoms while compared to flu are generally mild both in its effects and intensity.

What is Flu?

Flu is seasonal and that’s the first demarcation it can make with common cold. While a common cold is caused due to allergy causing agents such as mild viruses, cold, dust, smoke, etc.; flu is caused by the Influenza viruses-A or B. There is a new flu vaccine that is released every year to encompass all the new viruses that cause the sickness. Flu is always accompanied by dry cough, fever or chills, sore throat, body aches, stuffy nose and profound fatigue; which is all in high intensity while compared to that of a common cold.

Now that you have understood the basic difference between these two illnesses, let’s proceed with the prevention and recovering part while you or your loved one is struck with either of the sicknesses:

• Go Hygienic: practice hygiene in your daily chores. Keep your commonly-touched surfaces off germs. Use a hand sanitizer whenever possible and keep yourself clean and warm. Try using a clean tissue or hankie to cover your nose while you are sneezing-don’t use your hands, by doing so, you will be spreading the infection more towards yourself.
• No Smoking and Drinking: Both smokes and drinks reduce your immunity power, and thereby you will deteriorate the fighting power of your physique towards such illnesses. Naturally, your body’s fighting power will be shared with the effects that are created by smokes and drinks, and so, the concentration on bringing down your cold or flu will go for a toss. Recovery will take a very long time than what you expect. Therefore, stay off smokes and drinks.
• Relax and Rest: When you are down with a cold or flu, it is necessary that you ground yourself with enough rest after some piping hot food. By this way, you give your body enough rest to fight against the germ and on the outset, you stop spreading infections to your colleagues, classmates and near and dear ones.
• Go for Fighting Food: This part of the article is most important when it comes to prevention and recovery from common cold and flu. The amount of phytochemicals and relieving foods that you intake during this illness is the major medicine other than the doctor prescribed ones.

Here is a list of foods that will help you recover from common cold and flu:

1. Consume all forms of Vitamin C - fruits, juices and veggie
2. The Zinc Power - fortified cereals, milk and yogurt have loads of zinc in them, which can improve your body’s fighting mechanism
3. Eat Selenium - Eggs and mushrooms are superb sources of Selenium, which will again help improve your body’s immunity power
4. Go Garlic - garlic has all the anti-inflammatory properties to fight against diseases and viruses. Include a dash of garlic in your culinary
5. Dwell in Coconut Oi l- coconut oil is proven to possess anti-bacterial properties. Sauté your veggie in coconut oil and cook them to give that touch of anti-bacterial agents in your food
6. Drink Black Tea - it has been proven that people who drink down at least 5 cups of black tea per day have been found to have 10 times more resistance power to common colds and flu while compared to those who don’t.

Hope all of the above help you in the prevention and recovery from common cold and flu. Take care!